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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


Some  of  the  Opportunities,  Responsibilities  and 
Encouragements  of  Life. 


AN   ADDRESS 


DELIVERED    BEFORE    THE    MASSACHUSETTS    DENTAL   SOCIETY, 

AT   ITS    EIGHTEENTH   ANNUAL    MEETING,   IN   BOSTON, 

DECEMBER    14.   1882. 


C.    A.    BRACKETT,   D.    M.    D., 

* .  >  — 


Of  Newport,  R.  I. 


BOSTON,   MASS.: 
WRIGHT    &     POTTER     PRINTING    COMPANY, 
No.  1 8  Post  Office  Square. 
I883. 


Some  of  the  Opportunities,  Responsibilities  and 
Encouragements  of  Life. 


AN  ADDRESS 


DELIVERED    BEFORE    THE    MASSACHUSETTS    DENTAL   SOCIETY 

AT   ITS   EIGHTEENTH   ANNUAL   MEETING,   IN   BOSTON. 

DECEMBER    14.   1882. 


C.    A.    BRACKETT,   D.    M.    D. 


Of  Newport,  R.  I. 


BOSTON,   MASS.: 
WRIGHT     &     POTTER     PRINTING     COMPANY, 
No.  18  Post  Office  Square. 
I883. 


Massachusetts  Dental  Society, 

CODMAN   AND    ShUKTLEFF    HALL, 

Boston,  Mass.,  January  6,  1883. 


Dear  Doctor: 


I  hereby  inform  you  of  the  passing  of  the  following  vote  of  the  Society,  at  its 
Eighteenth  Annual  Meeting,  held  in  the  above  hall,  December  14-1.5,  1882:  — 

Voted,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Society  be  tendered  Dr.  C.  A.  Brackett  of 
Newport,  R.  I.,  for  his  able  address,  and  that  a  copy  of  the  same  be  requested  for 
publication. 

W.   E.   PAGE, 

Secretary. 


102  Touro  St.,  Newport,  R.  I.,  January  9,  1883. 
W.  E.  Page,  D.  M.  D.,  Secretary. 

Dear  Doctor:  —  I  have  your  official  notification  of  the  action  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Dental  Society  in  regard  to  my  address.  I  assure  you  that  the  kindness  is 
appreciated,  and  that  I  have  much  pleasure  in  placing  the  manuscript  at  the  Soci- 
ety's disposal. 

Yours  very  truly, 

C.  A.  BRACKETT. 


ADDRESS. 


Mr.  President,  and  Gentlemen  of  the 

Massachusetts  Dental  Society  : 

In  the  land  of  Canaan,  about  the  year  1141  before  Christ.  Israel 
went  out  to  do  battle  against  the  Philistines,  and  was  beaten  with  the 
loss  of  four  thousand  men.  Then  the  elders  of  Israel,  taking  counsel 
together,  determined  upon  bringing  into  their  catnp  the  Ark  of  the 
Covenant  as  a  talismanic  re-enforcement,  in  the  hope  of  reversing  the 
tide  of  battle.  The  ark  was  accordingly  at  once  sent  for,  and  when  it 
came  into  the  camp  there  was  such  enthusiasm  that  "  all  Israel 
shouted  with  a  great  shout,  so  that  the  earth  rang  again."  The  Phil- 
istines, hearing  this  great  noise,  and  learning  its  cause,  were  at  first 
filled  with  consternation  that  the  courage  and  energy  of  their  adver- 
saries had  been  so  strengthened  ;  but,  realizing  their  extremity,  they 
rallied,  and  inspirited  one  another  with  the  words,  "  '  Be  strong,  and 
quit  yourself  like  men,  O  ye  Philistines,  that  ye  be  not  servants  unto 
the  Hebrews,  as  they  have  been  to  you  ;  quit  yourselves  like  men,  and 
fight.'  And  the  Philistines  fought;  and  Israel  was  smitten,  and  they 
tied  every  man  into  his  tent ;  and  there  was  a  very  great  slaughter, 
for  there  fell  of  Israel  thirty  thousand  footmen.  And  the  ark  of  God 
was  taken,  and  the  two  sons  of  Eli,  Hophni  and  Phinehas  were  slain." 
Tims  the  Philistines  were  completely  victorious.  By  their  determina- 
tion and  energy  they  even  captured  Israel's  cherished  and  venerated 
emblem  ;  and  they  kept  it  till  they  saw  it  was  for  their  interest  to  sur- 
render it. 

Just  twelve  hundred  years  afterward  the  apostle  Paul,  writing  from 
Philippi  to  the  young  Christian  church  at  Corinth,  exhorted  them  in 
almost  the  same  earnest  words  that  had  been  the  rallying  cry  .of  the 
Philistines.  "  Watch  ye ;  stand  fast  in  the  faith;  quit  you  like  men; 
be  strong." 

For  the  privilege  of  appearing  before  3*011  to-day  us  your  annual 
orator  I  am  grateful.  I  am  mindful  of  the  fact  that  in  3-ears  past  you 
have  called  to  this  place  your  wisest  and  best  men  ;  and,  however 
unworthy  I  may  be,  I  do  not  attempt  to  conceal  my  gratification  at 
being  allowed  a  position  at  the  foot  of  so  long  and  so  creditable  a 
line.  At  the  same  time  that  I  express  appreciation  of  the  honor  von 
have  (lone  me,  I  must  ask  your  indulgence  for  having  chosen  a  suit- 


ject  a  little  aside  from  such  as  have  usually  been  considered  in  the 
annual  address  ;  but  I  am  sure  that  you  will  admit  that  it  is  not  entirely 
inappropriate. 

In  a  simple  way  my  theme  concerns  ourselves,  and  some  aspects  of 
our  existence  here.  The  fact  that  we  are  dentists  should  not  be  per- 
mitted to  overshadow  the  fact  that  we  are  men.  In  the  earnestness  of 
our  pursuit  of  our  calling  we  are  in  danger  of  forgetting  that  our  sec- 
ular occupation,  broadly  considered,  is  not  an  end,  but  in  a  high  and 
wTortlry  sense  a  means.  It  is  an  adventitious  circumstance  corre- 
sponding to  what  the  grammarian  calls  "  the  accident  of  inflection." 
The  great  root  of  existence,  with  all  its  possibilities  and  responsibilities, 
goes  deeper  and  is  of  more  importance.  Through  its  intelligent  con- 
sideration we  may  come  to  have  truer  and  better  views  of  our  daily 
life,  just  as  the  application  to  particulars  is  easy  after  the  generaliza- 
tions are  learned. 

Pope  has  truly  said,  "  The  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man."  In  a 
certain  sense  it  is  the  only  study,  for  our  relations,  connections  and  de- 
pendencies are  such  as  to  include  all  things.  The  study  of  man,  broadly 
undertaken,  is  as  wide  as  the  universe,  higher  than  the  heavens,  more 
profound  than  the  depths,  as  unending  as  eternity.  As  all  the  mate- 
rial commerce  of  the  world  has  for  its  object  the  gratification  of  man's 
corporal  nature,  so  all  of  life,  its  communications  and  experiences, 
have  their  part  and  influence  in  moulding  us,  in  developing  us,  in 
determining  what  we  shall  be,  here  and  hereafter.  "  What  a  piece 
of  work  is  a  man  !  how  noble  in  reason  !  how  infinite  in  faculty  !  in 
form  and  moving  how  express  and  admirable  !  in  action  how  like  an 
angel !   in  apprehension  how  like  a  god  !  " 

It  is  a  matter  for  great  marvelling  that  so  little  thought  is  given  to 
the  great  problems  of  existence,  that  there  is  so  little  consideration  of  its 
duties,   its  privileges,   its  responsibilities,  its  opportunities.     Of  al 
things  in  the  world  of  which  we  should  expect  men  to  take  the  most 
thought,  this  existence  is  the  first ;  3-et  we  all  go  on  from  da}-  to  da}' 
in  the   unthinking  pursuit  of  desultory  inclinations,  or  anxious  and 
troubled    about   many  trifling   details,  but  without   reference  to  our 
work  as  a  whole,  or  consideration  of  what  the  outcome  of  all  shall  be. 
We  come  into  a  busy  world  ;  we  see  men  everywhere  struggling  with 
labor  and  care.     Without  inquiring  wherefore,  we  plunge  into  the  vor 
tex  ;  when  we  should  lay  out  for  ourselves  a  plan,  definite  at  all  prom 
inent  points,  with  worthy  objects  to  be  attained  all  along  the  line  and 
at  the  end,  so  that  we  may  work  intolligently,  economize  our  strength 
and  our  resources,  and   make  the  result  of  every  effort  a  step  in  the 
accomplishment  of  the  desired  consummation. 

Physically,  man  is  a  machine,  not  unlike  a  locomotive,  or  any  other 


complex  mechanism  for  the  conversion  of  matter  and  force.  Certain 
supplies  being  provided  and  certain  conditions  observed,  certain  proc- 
esses are  performed,  and  certain  results  obtained.  It  is  easy  to  say 
and  to  see  that  that  this  machinery  should  be  wisely  cared  for, 
cleansed,  lubricated  and  intelligently  guided.  It  is  a  most  important 
element  of  the  "  mens  sana  in  corpore  sano."  But  the  human  body  is 
more  than  a  machine.  It  is  for  the  time  not  only  the  means  of  im- 
pression and  expression  of  the  mind  and  spirit ;  but  it  is  their  abiding 
place,  and  should  be  made  and  kept  fit  temple  for  their  indwelling. 

But  it  is  in  connection  with  man's  higher  faculties,  their  culture  and 
development,  that  a  wisely  considered  and  comprehensive  plan  is 
most  essential.  Let  us  think  for  a  few  moments  of  the  opportunities 
which  we  have.     The  world  demands  men. 

"  The  sage  who  lit  a  candle  in  the  day, 

And,  wisely  peering,  said, '  I  seek  a  man,' 
Was  not  so  crazy  after  all,  for  they 

Are  seen  as  rarely  now  as  they  were  then. 
'There's  any  quantity  of  gentlemen ; 

You  know  them  by  their  oath,  and  their  cigar 
And  cranium's  emptiness;  not  one  in  ten, 
Is  sensible  as  Plato's  bipeds  were." 

The  search  of  Diogenes  has  been  continued  from  that  day  to  this. 
It  goes  on  perpetually.  At  a  time  when  business  had  not  fully 
recovered  from  the  depression  following  the  crisis  of  '73,  and  while 
the  advertising  columns  of  the  newspapers  were  crowded  with 
•'Situations  wanted,"  one  of  the  successful  business  men  of  State 
Street,  a  man  of  large  experience,  careful  observation,  and  thoroughlj* 
conversant  with  the  matter  of  which  he  Avas  speaking,  said  to  me, 
'•Instead  of  the  supply  of  men  being  greater  than  the  demand,  for 
every  capable,  faithful,  energetic  man,  willing  to  work,  who  will 
devote  himself  earnestby  to  furthering  the  interest  of  his  employer, 
there  are  a  hundred  situations  open.  Business  men  have  all  the 
time  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  trustworthy  assistants." 

At  the  annual  dinner  of  the  Harvard  Club  of  Rhode  Island  at  New- 
port last  September,  Prof.  Agassiz  in  responding  to  the  toast  "  Our 
Alma  Mater,"  said  in  substance,  referring  more  particularly  to  the 
departments  at  Cambridge  perhaps,  that  Harvard  is  not  now  in  such 
need  of  more  money,  more  endowments,  more  bricks  and  mortar,  as 
she  is  of  men  of  high  capacity  and  special  traiuing  to  carry  on  the 
work  that  mind  alone  can  do.  These  two  expressions  may  be  taken 
as  t}*pes  of  many  that  might  be  quoted.  The  world  everywhere  and 
all  the  time  wants  men  to  do  its  work  of  every  kind.     If  students,  if 


8 

young  men  desiring  advancement,  only  appreciated  a  little  of  how 
their  capacity  is  being  gauged  and  their  conduct  watched  by  those 
who  have  vacant  places  to  fill,  it  would  seem  that  they  would  some- 
times be  more  circumspect.  They  should  remember,  also,  the  other 
fact,  that  the  mere  seeking  a  position  is  not  the  essential  part  of  being 
worthy  of  it.  Not  all  of  the  advice  to  his  son,  of  Lord  Chesterfield, 
as  contained  in  his  letters,  is  above  criticism  ;  but  prominent  among 
the  good  things  which  he  did  urge  upon  him  was  that  thorough  prep- 
aration for  the  business  of  life  that  should  make  him  necessary  to  the 
world,  so  necessary  that  instead  of  his  having  to  seek  the  world  for 
what  it  could  do  for  him,  the  world  would  seek  him  for  what  he  must 
do  for  it.  We  are  all  too  apt  to  be  looking  indefinitely  forward  for 
some  great  work  to  do;  when  our  spirit  and  capacity  would  be  far 
better  demonstrated  by  doing  excellently  each  day  the  ordinary  sim- 
ple tasks  that  fall  to  our  lot.  After  all,  it  is  this  regular  discharge  of 
simple  duties  that  in  the  aggregate  is  most  useful  to  the  world,  and 
makes  up  the  major  part  of  its  greatness.  Our  lamented  Lincoln  did 
indeed  a  great  thing  in  proclaiming  the  slaves  free  ;  but  the  warfare, 
and  the  bloodshed,  the  largess  of  treasure,  the  sacrifice  of  life,  the 
statesmanship,  the  care,  the  education,  the  elevation  needed  to  make 
the  emancipation  in  the  highest  sense  an  accomplished  fact,  have  re- 
quired and  received  contributions  from  millions  of  people.  The  world 
justly  reveres  its  very  great  men  ;  but  it  needs  only  a  few  of  them  in 
proportion  to  the  unnumbered  multitudes  of  smaller  great  men  that 
must  cany  on  its  ordinary  business  concerns. 

In  the  great  drama  of  this  life  we  ma}'  adopt  a  much  worse  policy  than 
the  earnest,  faithful  doing  of  the  duty  that  lies  nearest,  and  then  the 
next,  and  the  next,  persistently  ;  just  as  one  crossing  a  broad,  shallow 
stream  in  a  mist,  on  stepping-stones,  finds  the  way  a  step  at  a  time  till 
the  other  shore  is  gained.  Goethe  wisely  says,  "  Man  is  not  born  to 
solve  the  problem  of  the  universe,  but  to  find  out  what  he  has  to  do, 
and  to  restrain  himself  within  the  limits  of  his  comprehension." 

We  of  to-day  are  greatly  favored  in  the  times  in  which  we  live. 
The  multiplication  of  books  and  of  educational  institutions,  general 
and  special,  the  accumulation  of  material  resources,  the  possession  of 
more  time  apart  from  that  consumed  in  the  struggle  for  mere 
existence,  the  marvellous  advancement  of  science,  the  progress  of 
investigation,  the  revelation  of  truth  of  every  kind,  with  all  the  helps 
and  conveniences,  now  indispensable,  which  these  have  given  our 
daily  life,  suggest  a  few  of  our  many  privileges.  Think  that  a  hun- 
dred years  ago  there  were  no  railroads,  no  steam  navigation,  no  tele- 
graph, no  telephone,  no  anaesthetics,  little  knowledge  of  electricity, 
no  friction  matches  even,  — none  of  the  upwards  of  two  hundred  and 


seventy-three  thousand  ameliorating  inventions  whose  specifica- 
tions are  recorded  in  the  archives  of  the  Patent  Office,  and  which 
have  contributed  so  incalculably  to  the  amount  of  work  which  the 
world  has  been  able  to  do,  and  to  the  amount  of  material  comfort 
which  it  has  enjoyed  and  is  enjoying.  A  hundred  years  ago,  even, 
the  dentist,  as  a  product  of  American  soil,  had  hardly  begun  to  exist. 
More  than  one  small  boy  has  had  intervals  of  wishing  that  himself 
had  lived  in  the  last  century. 

But  in  all  this  marvellous,  unprecedented  progress  of  the  recent 
past,  only  the  beginning  has  been  made  in  the  wonders  of  discovery 
and  invention  that  the  unresting  spirit  of  those  who  quit  themselves 
like  men  will  bring  out  for  the  convenience  and  blessing  of  the  world 
in  the  future.  In  this  there  is  unlimited  opportunity  for  accomplish- 
ment. Such  simple  processes  as  hewing  wood,  drawing  water,  build- 
ing fire,  we  have  had  repeatedly  shown  susceptible  of  improvement, 
and  they  ma}'  be  improved  again.  Hardly  an  appliance,  a  material, 
or  a  process  is  yet  made  as  nearby  perfect  as  it  can  be.  We  need  to 
open  our  eyes  that  we  may  see,  and  sharpen  our  wits  that  we  may 
understand  something  of  what  may  be  revealed  to  us.  Men  saw 
apples  fall  to  the  earth  many  times  before  they  learned  the  great 
lesson  that  Newton  read  therein.  They  saw  maivy  flashes  of  lightning 
before  Franklin  led  it  quietly  down  his  kite-string,  and  demonstrated 
that  even  it  respects  a  silken  cord,  and  may  be  harnessed  to  do  man's 
bidding. 

Plato's  description  of  man  as  a  biped  without  feathers,  and  even 
with  flat  nails,  comprehends  but  a  small  portion  of  the  characteristics 
distinguishing  him  from  the  rest  of  the  animal  kingdum.  We  some- 
times hear  low  and  mean  actions  of  men  spoken  of  as  beastby.  Such 
expressions  are  a  vile  slander  on  the  beasts.  They  are  given  certain 
natures  which  they  have  no  power  to  change.  A  lion  must  be  a  lion, 
a  hyena  a  hyena,  a  sheep  a  sheep,  a  musquito  a  musquito.  Indeed, 
a  man  might  do  well  to  imitate  the  good  qualities  of  man}'  of 
the  lower  orders,  — the  high  spirit,  ambition  and  ready  service  of  the 
horse,  the  patience  and  steady  plodding  of  the  ox,  the  faithfulness  to 
trusts  and  abiding  friendship  of  the  dog,  the  far-sightedness  and  per- 
severance of  the  hawk,  the  industry  and  provision  for  the  future  of 
the  ant  and  the  bee,  the  light-heartedness  and  cheeriness  of  singing 
birds,  the  courage  to  undertake  great  labors,  with  means  commensu- 
rate only  in  energy,  of  the  beaver,  the  steady  persistence  to  an  end, 
though  its  attainment  be  many  times  thwarted  and  the  same  work 
have  to  be  done  over  and  over  again,  of  the  spider.  Animals,  too, 
are  content  to  work  each  in  his  appointed  sphere.  The}'  are  not  vic- 
tims of  the  alcohul  habit,  the  opium  habit,  of,  shall  I  say,  the  tobacco 


10 

habit,  and  they  are  not  often  guilty  of  abasing  any  of  their  natural 
powers.  But  man  is  given  a  different  degree  of  intelligence,  knowl- 
edge of  good  and  of  evil,  capacity  to  restrain  his  lower  nature  and  to 
cultivate  and  make  better  his  higher. 

The  opportunities  of  this  life  are  not  all  material.  There  is  the 
opportunity  for  building  ourselves,  for  character  building,  for  mould- 
ing and  developing  all  that  better  part  of  us  which  is  not  material, 
which  cannot  die,  and  whose  future  existence  must  be  so  largely 
affected  by  the  way  in  which  this  opportunity  is  improved.  There  is 
the  opportunity  for  helping  others  in  innumerable  ways,  for  lessening 
pain,  for  relieving  trouble,  for  soothing  sorrow,  for  giving  cheer,  for 
pointing  out  encouragement,  for  conferring  happiness.  And  here 
may  be  produced  results  grander  and  more  enduring  than  anything 
that  the  material  world  can  show  ;  and  the  agencies  are  so  simple, 
the  expenditure  in  proportion  to  results  so  trifling.  A  smile,  a  kind 
word,  a  flower,  an  expression  of  appreciation,  of  approval,  of  praise, 
of  friendship.  How  inspiriting  is  a  little  deserved  commendation  for 
a  child  !  and  — 

•  Men  are  but  children  of  a  larger  growth  ; 
Our  appetites  are  apt  to  change  as  theirs, 
And  full  as  craving,  too,  and  full  as  vain  '' 

One  of  Chicago's  successful  men,  lawjer,  railroad  president,  busi- 
ness man,  told  me  last  summer  that  in  his  beginning,  after  one  of  his 
early  appearances  in  court,  a  certain  judge,  for  whom  he  had  great 
respect,  remarked  to  some  one  so  that  it  came  to  his  cars,  "That 

\V will  make  a  smart  lawyer."     "  Why,  on  the  strength  of  that 

one  remark,"  said  W ,  "  I  worked  like  a  Trojan  for  a  whole  year." 

Multitudes  of  instances  have  occurred  in  which  so  little  a  thing  as 
this  has  changed  entirely  the  current  of  a  life,  aud  made  all  the  differ- 
ence between  despair  and  courage,  between  dependence  and  self-sup- 
port, between  listnessness  and  energy,  between  vice  and  virtue,  be- 
tween failure  and  success,  between  misery  and  happiness.  Influence 
may  be  exerted  to  depress  and  hinder  as  well  as  to  encourage  and 
sustain.  Put  yourself  in  the  place  of  an  actress  making  a  debut  in  a 
strange  city,  before  audiences  in  the  highest  degree  exacting,  and  see 
if  you  are  not  so  overwhelmed  by  the  avalanches  of  adverse  criticisms 
as  to  be  incapable  of  doing  justice  to  the  degree  of  capacity  you 
actually  possess,  —  unless,  indeed,  you  have  the  strength  to  rise  up 
as  did  Disraeli,  when  ridiculed  and  scorned  in  his  weak  early  attempts 
to  make  a  speech  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  say,  "  The  time  will 
come  when  you  will  hear  me,"  and  make  the  promise  good. 


11 

This  matter  of  influence  is  an  immense  one,  and  we  cannot  discuss 
it  now.  We  were  speaking  of  opportunities,  and  in  connection  with 
this  question  of  helpfulness,  will  only  stop  to  say  that  there  are  con- 
stantly, daily  and  hourly,  arising  occasions  when  small  investments  in 
these  little  tilings  may  realize  incalculable  dividends  for  ourselves,  for 
those  around  us,  and  for  the  world. 

What  else  shall  we  say  of  opportunities,  except  that  in  them  we 
are  given  all  for  which  self-reliant  human  nature  can  reasonably  ask? 
In  the  little  things  of  daily  life  we  have  a  better  than  Archime- 
dean chance  to  move  the  world,  not  grossly,  but  by  brightening  the 
little  spot  of  earth  on  which  our  lot  ma)"  be  cast,  and  sweetening  the 
little  atmosphere  about  us. 

A  friend,  a  bus)*  and  earnest  physician,  of  Western  Massachusetts, 
enthusiastically  said  to  rue  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  "  If  we  would  only 
improve  our  time  and  our  capacities  to  their  utmost,  we  might  be 
gods  instead  of  men." 

But  there  are  limitations  even  to  opportunity.  Two  or  three  of  these 
must  be  mentioned.  Perhaps  the  chiefest  of  these  comes  from  time, 
which  passes  so  rapidly  that  we  are  old  before  realizing  it.  But  yes- 
terday we  were  boys,  wondering  what  the  great  world  had  in  store  for 
us  ;  to-day.  its  work,  its  cares,  its  responsibilities  are  upon  us  :  to-mor- 
row, we  go  hence  to  be  remembered  no  more.  The  carefully  prepared 
Combined  Experience  Tables  of  Mortality,  show  that  an  individual  at 
thirty  years  of  age  has  an  expectation  of  life  of  34.43  years  ;  at  forty, 
27.28;  at  fifty,  20.18;  at  sixty,  13.77;  at  seventy,  8.54  ;  at  eighty, 
4.70.  According  to  these  tables  one  reaches  the  middle  of  life  during  the 
thirty-third  year.  A  material  percentage  of  our  number  have  already 
passed  that  point,  and  have  commenced  upon  the  last  half.  A  very 
large  part  of  the  world  at  that  age  have  only  got  fairly  started  in  the 
work  of  life  ;  and  few  realize  that  they  have  already  crossed  the  meri- 
dian, —  that  for  them  the  sun  is  westering  to  its  setting,  and  that  the 
time  that  remains  to  them,  even  upon  the  average,  is  inexpressibly 
precious.  It  seems  marvellous  howr  any  one  who  has  really  arrived  at 
years  of  discretion  can  find  time  hanging  heavily  on  his  hands.  To 
have  to  resort  to  expedients  "  to  kill  time  "  is  pitiable  ;  it  seems 
almost  as  sacrilegious  as  to  destroy  life.  "  Dost  thou  cling  to  life?" 
questions  Richter ;  -'then  improve  thy  time,  for  that  is  the  stuff  of 
which  life  is  made."  The  Spaniards  have  a  proverb  which  says, 
"  Fortune  knocks  once  at  every  man's  door."  Happy  he  who  has  his 
latch-string  hanging  on  the  outside,  and  who  attends  to  the  call  when 
it  comes. 

Again,  as  the  length  of  our  work  is  inexorably  determined  by  time, 
its  breadth  is  also  brought  within  narrow  compass  by  the  limitations 


12 

of  human  capacity.  It  has  been  well  said  that  three  principal  cir- 
cumstances combine  to  make  up  the  character  of  a  man,  —  his  birth, 
his  environment,  his  own  efforts.  The  first  is  entirely  beyond  his  own 
control.  If  the  Declaration  of  American  Independence  were  to  be  con- 
strued as  affirming  that  "  all  men  are  created  equal,"  in  any  other  than 
a  political  sense,  we  should  say  at  once  that  the  Declaration  was  guilty 
of  telling  a  —  mistake.  Many  are  heavily  handicapped  in  the  race  of 
life  by  this  first  circumstance  of  heredity.  Happy  for  them  if  it  be 
only  physical  weakness  or  deformity,  and  not  also  low  grovelling  nat- 
ures, vicious  tendencies,  criminal  proclivities.  The  accident  of  envi- 
ronment, though  not  quite  so  absolute  as  that  of  birth,  can  usually  be 
hardly  at  all  modified  by  the  individual  during  the  most  impression- 
able years.  Later,  a  man  may  in  a  measure  choose  his  own  surround- 
ings ;  but,  in  a  general  way,  we  may  say  that  man  has  little  control 
over  the  first  two  circumstances  of  his  make-up,  and  that  the  third 
circumstance,  his  own  efforts,  which  he  is  supposed  to  entirely  direct, 
cannot  escape  the  modifying  influences  of  the  other  two.  Perhaps 
this  is  not  the  strictest  logic  ;  but  it  will  serve  our  purpose.  With  so 
much  to  affect  one's  determination  to  do  well,  it  follows  that  the 
determination  should  be  as  strong  as  possible. 

But  with  natural  gifts,  contributing  influences,  and  voluntary  efforts, 
at  their  best,  man  can  compass  but  little.  Truly  the  most  profound 
student,  while  knowing  a  little  of  many  things,  can  hope  to  know 
thoroughly  well  only  one  thing.  The  artist  and  the  artisan  can  hope 
to  excel  in  doing  but  one  thing,  and  the}'  may  deem  themselves  blest  if 
the}'  succeed  in  accomplishing  so  much  as  that.  In  these  days  of 
wise  division  of  stud}'  and  work  into  specialties,  and  of  rapid  ad- 
vancement in  every  science  and  every  art,  one  has  to  be  very  bright 
and  very  industrious  to  keep  abreast  of  the  times  in  his  calling.  We 
should  learn  to  practically  appreciate  all  these  limitations,  and  be 
content  to  have  only  a  general  knowledge  of  geology,  for  instance, 
fashionable  society,  literature,  art,  history,  statesmanship,  finance, 
law,  theology,  and  scores  of  other  subjects,  if  we  thereby  are  enabled 
to  know  and  to  do  dentistry  thoroughly  well.  The  other  things  should 
he  taken  up,  only  so  far  as  they  may  be  made  to  contribute  to  our 
main  work,  for  relaxation,  or  as  we  can  afford  to  pursue  them  for 
the  general  culture. 

Opportunities  imply  obligations  ;  great  opportunities,  great  obliga- 
tions. We  have  for  our  possession  and  advantage  and  enjoyment  all 
the  encluriug  products  of  the  labor  of  those  who  have  gone  before  us. 
We  live  in  their  houses  ;  we  ride  over  their  streets  ;  we  have  commerce 
at  their  wharves  ;  we  buy  and  sell  in  their  warehouses  ;  we  read  their 
books  ;  we  admire  their  great  art  products  ;  we  adorn  our  houses  with 


18 

copies  of  their  handiwork ;  we  worship  in  their  churches ;  we  enjoy 
all  the  inestimable  blessings  of  "  life,  libert}%  and  the  pursuit  of  hap- 
piness," in  this  glorious  land  bought  with  their  blood,  and  yet 
again  redeemed  by  the  sacrifice  of  thousands  of  valuable  lives.  It  is 
true  that  we  have  done  some  things  for  ourselves  ;  but  here  is  an  op- 
portunity for  us  to  appreciate  the  foundations  that  have  rendered  our 
superstructure  possible.  With  regard  to  all  these  heritages  of  the 
ages  we  are  trustees,  at  liberty  to  use  and  enjoy  the  blessings  in  our 
time,  but  bound  to  pass  them  on  to  posterity,  not  only  unimpaired, 
but  with  interest. 

To  particularize  a  little,  it  is  every  man's  duty,  first,  to  at  least  not 
be  a  burden  upon  the  world.  The  tramp's  proposition  that  the  world 
owes  him  a  living  without  effort  on  his  part,  is  the  very  converse  of 
true.  Some  of  the  lowest  forms  of  animal  life  do  indeed  sustain 
themselves  by  simply  absorbing  or  enveloping  the  nourishment  that 
lies  beside  them  ;  but  a  man  in  the  world  of  men,  as  in  any  other  co- 
operative organization,  has  no  right  to  partake  of  the  fruits  of  others' 
labors,  or  to  be  supported  from  the  general  fund  without  making  his 
due  contribution  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole.  Every  man  who  avoids 
doing  his  part  makes  it  so  much  harder  for  those  who  have  the  bur- 
dens to  bear.  The  work  of  the  world  need  not  press  unduly  upon  any 
if  it  were  equally  distributed.  The  man  who  habitually  and  with 
malice  aforethought,  avoids  the  liquidation  of  his  pecuniary  obliga- 
tions, and  especially  while  keeping  up  a  luxurious  style  of  living  upon 
the  earnings  of  other  people,  the  majority  of  whom  are  usually  unable 
to  make  the  contributions,  is  a  fit  candidate  for  the  whipping-post ; 
and  for  such  I  am  an  earnest  advocate  for  its  revival.  These  people 
are  not  constituted  so  as  to  suffer  any  punishment  from  public  opinion 
or  from  any  moral  influences  which  their  creditors  are  able  to  bring  to 
bear  against  them.  Their  "  inward  monitor  "  is  indeed  an  ironclad. 
For  them  seclusion  for  a  time  in  well  warmed  rooms,  with  good  board 
at  the  State's  expense,  is  too  comfortable,  and  hanging  does  not  last 
long  enough. 

AVhile  we  are  speaking  of  pecuniary  things,  there  are  two  other 
obligations  so  important  and  pertinent  for  us,  in  common  with  all  men, 
and  so  largely  neglected,  that  I  am  sure  you  will  pardon  me  for 
naming  them.  The  fii'st  of  these  is  life  insurance.  If  we  have  any 
dear  ones  whose  circumstances  are  at  all  dependent  upon  the  contin- 
uance of  our  exertions  in  their  behalf,  it  is  a  most  sacred,  as  it  should 
be  a  foremost  duty,  to  put  their  future  comfort  beyond  a  perad venture 
so  far  as  investments  in  stable  security  of  this  kind  can  provide.  We 
see  around  us  constantly  arising  so  many  illustrations  of  the  sad  con- 
sequences of  neglect  of  this  thing  that  I  need  only  call  them  to  your 


14 

minds  to  present  the  most  forcible  arguments.  The  other  matter  has 
reference  to  the  disposal  of  our  possessions,  if  we  have  not  near  ones 
who  need  them.  I  know  you  will  meet  this  at  the  outset  by  saying 
that  a  dentist's  accumulations  are  not  so  large  as  to  occasion  him  or 
anybody  else  any  anxiety  as  to  their  disposal.  This  is  true  enough  ; 
but  the  instance  might  occur  in  which  a  dentist  had  a  hundred  dollars, 
or  several  hundred  dollars,  which  he  would  like  to  have  put  to  the  best 
possible  use  after  lie  was  through  with  it.  If  he  has  a  preference  as 
to  that  use  he  should  make  no  mistake  in  indicating  it  in  legal  form  ; 
and  if  he  chooses  to  include  among  his  beneficiaries  any  good  school 
for  the  education  of  young  men  in  our  profession,  the  donation  would 
fall  into  most  appreciative  hands,  be  the  means  of  helping  to  set  aside 
one  of  the  most  serious  embarrassments  under  which  such  institutions 
struggle,  and  help  a  most  worthy  cause.  Said  Francis  Bacon,  writing 
nearly  three  hundred  years  ago,  in  the  preface  to  his  "  Maxims  of  the 
Law":  u  I  hold  every  man  a  debtor  to  his  profession;  from  the 
which  as  men  of  course  do  seek  to  receive  countenance  and  profit,  so 
ought  the}-  of  duty  to  endeavor  themselves,  by  way  of  amends,  to  be 
a  help  and  ornament  thereto."  This  is  peculiarly  true  for  us  on 
account  of  the  rapid  advancement  which  has  been  given  our  profession. 
The  young  men  of  to-day  come  easily  into  the  enjoyment  of  many 
advantages  which  the  fathers,  as  sturdy  pioneers,  worked  out  for  us 
with  great  toil  and  difficulty. 

As  men  we  have  other  obligations,  many  and  various  ;  obligations 
to  ourselves,  family  obligations,  social  obligations,  moral  and  religious 
obligations,  obligations  to  the  community  in  which  we  live,  obliga- 
tions which  grow  out  of  our  possession  of  ability  or  capacity  of  any 
kind  that  can  serve  those  about  us  ;  and  the  extent  of  these  obliga- 
tions is  commensurate  with  our  capacity.  Of  old  the  percentage  was 
held  to  be  the  same  whether  the  loan  was  five  talents,  or  two  talents,  or 
one  talent ;  and  the  widow's  mite  was  more  than  all  other  contributions. 

It  is  very  important  that  we  recognize  the  fleeting  character  of  the 
circumstances  that  permit  the  liquidation  of  many  of  these  obliga- 
tions. Some  one,  whom  I  should  be  glad  to  be  able  to  quote  to  you 
by  name,  puts  this  very  effectively  in  a  simile  of  life  as  a  journey, 
himself  as  a  traveller,  and  he  says  in  substance  :  "  If  I  may  do  ser- 
vice to  an}-  let  me  do  it  now,  for  I  shall  not  pass  this  way  again." 
The  circumstances  of  no  one  of  our  days  can  ever  come  back  to  us  to 
be  acted  over. 

"  True  work  is  in  being,  not  seeming, 
In  doing  each  day  that  goes  by 
Some  little  good,  not  in  dreaming 
Of  great  things  to  do  by  and  by. 


15 

For  whatever  men  say  in  their  blindness, 

And  spite  of  the  fancies  of  youth, 
There  is  nothing  so  kingly  as  kindness, 

And  nothing  so  royal  as  truth." 

"  A  sacred  burden  is  this  life  ye  bear, 
Look  on  it,  lift  it,  bear  it  solemnly ; 
Stand  up  and  walk  beneath  it  steadfastly  : 
Fail  not  for  sorrow,  falter  not  for  sin, 
But  onward,  upward,  till  the  goal,  ye  win."' 

"  Whatsover  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might,  for  there  is 
no  work,  nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom,  in  the  grave  whither 
thou  goest." 

But  let  us  hasten  to  the  mention  of  some  of  the  sources  of  en- 
couragement and  cheer  in  our  work  ;  and  note,  first,  that  however 
humble  and  disadvantageous  the  circumstances  of  our  beginning  are, 
they  should  not  be  in  the  least  disheartening,  but  rather  the  reverse. 
We  may  see  daily  by  reading  the  obituary  columns  of  the  press,  that 
a  very  large  proportion  of  those  who  have  earned  prominent  and 
honored  positions  were  strengthened  and  disciplined  and  developed  by 
a  hard  struggle  in  the  beginning.  Biography  repeats  the  same  story 
over  and  over  again  in  the  lives  of  great  men.  Think  of  Demosthenes, 
of  Columbus,  of  Milton,  of  Shakespeare,  Bach,  Arkwright,  Watt, 
Stephenson,  Johnson,  Ferguson,  Franklin,  Morse,  Burritt,  Grant, 
Wilson,  Lincoln,  Garfield,  and  hundreds  of  others  whom  these  may 
serve  to  suggest. 

Let  us  appreciate,  in  the  second  place,  the  great  blessing,  instead  of 
what  many  are  prone  to  consider  the  condemnation,  to  man  of  labor, 
labor  that  preys  not  upon  the  foibles  and  weaknesses  of  humanity,  but 
that  aims  to  render  the  world  useful,  productive  service. 

"  A  servant  with  this  clause 
Makes  drudgery  divine ; 
Who  sweeps  a  room  as  for  thy  laws, 
Makes  that  and  th'  action  fine." 

The  man  whose  whole  soul  is  in  his  work  may  be  cold,  or  wet,  or 
dinnerless,  or  sleepless,  and  not  know  it.  The  miseries  are  shut  out 
by  the  preoccupation.  It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  man  to  be  idle  with- 
out suffering  ill  consequences.  The  mill  that  has  nothing  to  grind 
grinds  itself. 

"  The  trenchant  blade,  Toledo  trusty, 
For  want  of  fighting  has  grown  rusty  ; 
And  ate  into  itself,  for  lack 
Of  somebody  to  hew  and  hack." 


16 

The  spirit  of  doing  our  work,  whatever  it  is.  .it  our  best,  is  also  a 
most  helpful  and  cheering  one  for  ourselves.  Said  a  gentlemen  who 
was,  by  the  proprietor,  being  shown  through  works  that  had  gained  a 
high  and  extended  reputation  for  the  production  of  hammers  of 
superior  quality,  "  I  suppose  you  have  got  so  that  you  make  a  pretty 
good  hammer."  The  reply  came  instantly,  "  Sir,  I  never  made  a 
pretty  good  hammer." 

Pleasure  flies  persistently  from  pursuit ;  but  she  comes  to  abide  with 
the  man  who,  instead  of  wooing  her  directly,  gives  his  attention  to  the 
discharge  of  his  duty. 

One  that  has  had  no  experience  can  have  no  conception  of  the 
pleasure  of  accomplishment,  and  particularly  of  accomplishment  under 
difficulties.  One  who  has  never  been  weary  can  have  no  appreciation 
of  the  comfort  of  well-earned  rest ;  and  the  discipline  and  develop- 
ment growing  out  of  these  experiences  are  among  the  most  valuable 
of  every-day  life.  If  we  would  onby  realize  the  fact,  for  it  is  a  fact, 
that  we  have  more  reason  for  happiness  in  our  daily  work,  with  all  its 
cares,  and  anxieties,  and  perplexities,  and  wearinesses,  than  would  be 
possible  for  us  to  have  under  any  circumstances  that  we  could  con- 
trive for  ourselves,  we  should  sec  little  occasion  or  pretext  for  down- 
heartedness. 

"  Heaven  is  not  reached  at  a  single  bound, 
But  we  build  the  ladder  by  which  we  rise 
From  the  lowly  earth  to  the  vaulted  skies, 
And  we  mount  to  the  summit  round  by  round." 

We  have  great  encouragement  to  begin  tasks  iu  the  fact  that 
beginning  is  usually  the  most  difficult  part.  It  has  been  well  said 
that  every  quarter  of  an  hour  well  or  ill  spent  makes  it  easier  or  harder 
for  us  to  spend  the  next  quarter  of  an  hour  well.  Every  time  we  yield 
to  temptation  makes  it  easier  for  us  to  yield  again.  "  ^Ye  first  endure, 
then  pit}',  then  embrace."  Emerson  says  :  "  A  great  part  of  courage 
is  the  courage  of  having  done  the  thing  before  ;  and  in  all  human 
action  those  faculties  will  be  strong  which  are  used."  The  old 
proverb  has  it,  "  Choose  that  course  of  life  which  is  the  most  excel- 
lent, and  habit  will  render  it  the  most  delightful."  One  who  is  be- 
ginning to  make  a  success  is  all  the  time  getting  farther  and  farther 
out  on  the  long  end  of  the  lever. 

Accompanying  the  feeling  of  success  should  always  be  one  of  cau- 
tion. "  Let  him  who  thinketh  he  stand eth  take  heed  lest  he  fall." 
In  the  grandest  success  there  is  an  element  of  danger  growing  out  of 
that  very  success.  Everything  having  been  successful  one  comes  to 
think  that  everything  must  be  successful,  and  the  great  prerequisites 


17 

of  care,  discretion  and  vigilance  are  neglected.  Failures  under  such 
circumstances  are  most  mortifying.  None  can  remain  stationary. 
We  must  all  be  making  progress  or  falling  behind.  When  one  feels 
that  he  has  conquered  all  his  little  world  there  is  reason  to  fear  that 
his  little  world  has  begun  the  conquest  of  him. 

But  a  gospel  of  cheer  is  needed,  not  so  much  for  success  as  for  the 
want  of  success,  ineffectual  effort,  failure:  and  that  gospel  is  not 
lacking. 

"  No  endeavor  is  in  vain  ; 

Its  reward  is  in  the  doing  ; 
And  the  rapture  of  pursuing 
Is  the  prize  the  vanquished  gain.1' 

We  often  have  the  opportunity  to  learn  more  from  our  failures  than 
from  our  successes.  Every  failure  should  be  a  rock  upon  which  to 
securely  base  a  success,  and  the  adverse  criticisms  of  ourselves,  our 
friends  or  our  enemies  should  help  us  to  build  up  that  success.  And 
so  in  the  discipline  of  all  the  trials  and  afflictions  and  so-called  calam- 
ities of  this  world  we  should  see  blessing.  "  Our  light  affliction, 
which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding 
and  eternal  weight  of  glory." 

"  Who  ne'er  his  bread  in  sorrow  ate, 

Who  ne'er  the  mournful  midnight  hours 
Weeping  upon  his  bed  has  sate, — 

He  knows  you  not,  ye  Heavenly  Powers." 

The  finest  porcelain  is  made  from  clay  that  has  had  severe  grinding  ; 
and  the  noblest  human  natures  that  brighten  this  lower  world  have 
been  refined  and  purified  and  ennobled  through  suffering.  It  is  a  wise 
philosophy  that  starts  out  forseeing  that  "Into  each  life  some  rain 
must  fall,"  and  is  prepared  to  accept  it  as  a  part  of  experience  that 
cannot  be  spared.  Much  disappointment  ma}-  be  avoided  by  not 
expecting  too  much,  —  b}'  understanding  in  advance  that  the  best 
laid  plans  "  gang  aft  a-gley  ;  "  and  much  of  every-day  cheerfulness, 
after  having  used  our  best  endeavors,  comes  from  our  being  able  to 
sa}T,  "  I  have  learned,  in  whatsoever  state  I  am,  therewith  to  be  con- 
tent." Happiness  comes  not  so  much  from  the  multitude  of  our  bless-  t 
ings  as  from  the  proportion  between  our  desires  and  our  possessions. 

We  should  be  prepared  for  conflicts  with  depression,  hypochon- 
driasis ;  but  even  this  need  not  be  beyond  our  control.  Stanhope 
s.iys  :  "  I  am  convinced  that  a  light  supper,  a  good  night's  sleep  and 
a  rne  morning  have  sometimes  made  a  hero  of  the  same  man  who, 
bv  an  indigestion,  a  restless  night  and  a  rainy  morning  would  have 


IS 

proved  a  coward."  A  little  sensible  analysis  of  ourselves  and  out- 
experiences  will  enable  us  in  a  degree  to  set  aside  abnormal  suffering 
of  this  kind.  For  real  sources  of  annoyance,  anxiety,  or  regret  that 
may  arise  in  our  practice  or  in  our  relations  with  the  world  in  an}' 
way,  no  better  suggestion  has  been  made  than  that  given  by  Dr. 
Edward  Waldo  Emerson,  in  his  annual  address  in  April  last  before 
the  South  Middlesex  Medical  Society  :  we  should  ponder  over  troubles 
just  so  far  as  we  can  get  profit  from  them  in  the  way  of  help  out  of 
the  difficulties,  or  avoidance  of  similar  ones  on  other  occasions,  and 
then  drop  them.  Similar  doctrine  is  that  which  teaches  that  we  should 
not  worry  over  two  certain  classes  of  things :  first,  those  which  we 
cannot  help  ;  and,  second,  those  that  we  can  help,  —  each  for  obvious 
reasons.  All  that  the  past  has  in  it  of  evil  should  be  put  under  the 
feet ;  all  that  the  present  has  in  it  of  blessing  should  be  enjoyed  ;  for 
the  future,  cherish  hope  and  work  with  courage.  "  Evil  is  like  a 
nightmare  ;  the  instant  you  begin  to  strive  with  it,  to  bestir  yourself, 
it  is  already  ended." 

The  results  of  right  efforts  are  cumulative.  Practice  enables  us  to 
do  our  work  better  and  more  easily  ;  experience  makes  us  wiser ; 
acquaintance  with  annoyances  and  difficulties  should  teach  us  how  to 
remedy  them,  or  to  bear  them  with  patience.  Then,  too,  the  material 
results  of  our  work  are  cumulative.  The  prosperous  man  is  able  to 
note  each  year  a  gain  in  this  respect ;  and  he  should  find  that  he  can 
from  time  to  time  command  new  comforts,  new  advantages,  new  bless- 
ings. Anything  of  this  kind  that  has  been  looked  forward  to,  and 
struggled  for,  and  earned,  has  a  peculiar  zest  in  the  realization. 
Something  to  work  for  is  an  essential  element  of  happiness.  In  this 
particular  we  may  be  perpetually  favored  ;  and  as  step  after  step  is 
accomplished  we  may  reap  corresponding  increments  of  satisfaction. 
If  we  but  come  into  their  possession  in  the  right  way,  all  the  good 
things  of  this  world  are  given  for  our  enjoyment. 

A  lively  sense  of  appreciation  of  blessings  is  in  itself  one  of  the 
chief.  A  visitor  at  an  almshouse  met  there  a  poor  old  woman  who 
had  suffered  the  loss  of  friends,  property,  home,  health,  everything 
that  we  are  accustomed  to  look  upon  as  making  life  desirable  ;  but 
she  was  filled  with  a  spirit  of  genuine  thankfulness.  "  Yes,"  she  said, 
"  I  have  indeed  lost  and  suffered  much;  but  bless  the  Lord,  I  have 
got  two  teeth  left,  one  in  each  jaw,  and  the}'  meet  each  other." 

We  are  surrounded  by  a  world  of  beauty  and  blessing  if  we  will 
only  open  our  eyes  to  see  and  our  hearts  to  receive. 

"  And  this  our  life,  .  .  . 
Finds  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks, 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  evervthing." 


19 

The  dentist  is  blessed  in  that  his  work  is  so  directly  with  people, 
and  so  largely  with  the  better  class  of  people  in  the  community.  He 
has  an  opportunhVy  to  contemplate  many  of  the  pleasanter  and 
nobler  aspects  of  humanit}^  and  by  them  he  should  be  himself  culti- 
vated and  retined.  Our  burnishers,  used  constantly  upon  gold,  come 
to  reflect  something  of  the  nobler  metal.  We  ought  not  to  be  less 
alive  than  cold  steel  to  improving  influences.  Happy  the  man  who  so 
cultivates  his  better  nature  that,  as  he  goes  through  life  and  gains 
added  experience,  he  grows  more  gentle,  more  appreciative,  more 
considerate,  more  charitable,  more  tender ;  who  looks  upon  the  world 
in  a  spirit  of  optimism,  as  being  alike  more  satisfactory  to  himself 
and  more  just  and  true  to  the  world  ;  who  does  his  wrork  in  his  time, 
and,  when  his  turn  comes  to  resign,  resigns  gracefully ;  who  is  con- 
tent with  the  fact  that  however  large  a  place  he  may  have  filled  in  the 
world's  affairs,  the  vacancy  left  will  be  of  the  same  size  that  is  shown 
by  withdrawing  a  needle  from  water,  and  that  even  if  he  is  a  king,  the 
proclamation  will  be,  "  The  king  is  dead  ;  long  live  the  king  ! "  Web- 
ster said  truly, k*  One  may  live  as  a  conqueror,  a  king  or  a  magistrate  ; 
but  one  must  die  as  a  man." 

May  we  quit  us  like  men. 

"  So  live  that  when  thy  summons  comes  to  join 
The  innumerable  caravan  which  moves 
To  that  mysterious  i-ealrn  where  each  shall  take 
His  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  death, 
Thou  go  not,  like  the  quarry-slave  at  night, 
Scourged  to  his  dungeon ;  but,  sustained  and  soothed 
By  an  unfaltering  trust,  approach  thy  grave 
Like  one  that  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 

So  live  that  at  the  end  thou  mayst  be  able  to  say,  tk  I  have  fought 
a  good  fight;  ...  I  have  kept  the  faith."  ' 'I  have  finished  the 
work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do." 

So  live  that  thou  mayst  hear  the  benediction,  "  Well  done,  good 
and  faithful  servant ;  thou  hast  been  faithful  over  a  few  things,  I  will 
make  thee  ruler  over  many  things  ;  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy 
Lord." 


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